Speed kills: Why Manny Pacquiao will destroy Ricky Hatton

Speed Kills: Why Manny Pacquiao Will Destroy Ricky Hatton Speed Kills: Why Manny Pacquiao Will Destroy Ricky Hatton By Pete “The Heat” Parry-February 13, 2009 “Ladies and gentlemen, live from the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada…. this is your Main Event of the evening…… 12 rounds of boxing for the IBO and Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight Championship Of The World….” On May 2nd, after a negotiation process that would make the writers of “Days Of Our Lives” proud, Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao and Ricky “Hit Man” Hatton will stand in the ring and we, along with them, will hear those words. After months of anticipation it will all come down to this; two warriors in the ring and the opening bell just moments away. Before that bell rings let’s go “ringside” for color commentary and background on how this fight was made, the tale-of-the-tape for the two fighters, and a look ahead to what may transpire in that ring once the bell sounds. Pacquiao vs. Hatton was officially signed, sealed, and delivered in late January after an on again-off again negotiating process involving PPV splits and purse guarantees. The original deal called for a 50-50 split of the PPV revenues. That was rejected outright by Pacquiao, who demanded 60-40 plus a guaranteed purse. After missing several signing deadlines and the fight being called off at one point, Manny agreed to a 52-48 PPV split with a $12 million purse guarantee. The fight is being promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank in association with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. Manny Pacquiao enters the fight as the challenger, coming off a year reminiscent of what Henry Armstrong accomplished in a nine month period in 1937-38. Fighting in three different weight classes in three fights, Pacquiao won two world titles, in the Junior Lightweight and Lightweight divisions, and defeated Oscar De La Hoya at welterweight. Manny opened his 2008 campaign in March by winning the WBC Junior Lightweight title via 12 round decision over Juan Manuel Marquez. Next, in his debut fight at Lightweight he captured the WBC Title with a knockout victory over defending champion David Diaz. Pacquiao staked his claim to the title of 2008’s Fighter of the Year on December 6 with a dominant performance in stopping De La Hoya in 8 one-sided rounds, jumping over the 140 pound junior welterweight division to compete at 147. Hatton, hailing from Manchester, England, is recognized by Ring Magazine as the lineal Junior Welterweight Champion, and will be the defending IBOCchampion, a title he won by defeating Juan Urango in 2007. Hatton is 2-1 in his last 3 fights, dating back to December, 2007 and his 10 round TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather, JR., in a battle for the WBC Welterweight Title. Since then the Hit Man has defeated Juan Lazcano by near shut out 12 round decision, and, in his most recent fight in November 2008 he soundly defeated Paulie Malignaggi, stopping the Magic Man in the 11th round. Looking at the Tale of the Tape now, Hatton enters the ring with a professional record of 45-1, 32 KO’s. His height is listed at 5’7 ½” with a reach of 65.” It is expected Hatton will weigh-in between 139 and 140 lbs, his usual fighting weight. Pacquiao’s professional record is 48-3-2, 36 KO’s. The Pac-Man stands in at 5’ 6 ½” and has a reach of 67.” His weight will remain a mystery until he steps on the scales, having never fought in the junior welterweight division before. Pacquiao weighed 129 for his March 2008 fight with Marquez, and as much as 142 in December for the super fight with Oscar De La Hoya. This fight will mark the fourth different weight division in which he has competed in as many fights. Examining the numbers, Hatton will have a one inch height advantage, but Pacquiao will have a 2” advantage in reach. This is significant because Pacquiao likes to stay outside using his jab as a measuring stick, then his quickness to jump in with fast but powerful combinations. Conventional wisdom says that Hatton will be the stronger of the two at the 140 pound weight class, but if recent history has shown us anything it is that conventional wisdom goes out the window once the bell rings. Antonio Margarito was supposed to be the stronger of the two when he faced Sugar Shane Mosley on January 24, yet it was Mosley who easily pushed Margarito off at times in the fight and soundly defeated the WBA Welterweight champion. Before that, it was Manny Pacquiao who was supposed to be a near ‘sacrificial lamb’ to the bigger, stronger Oscar De La Hoya. However, boxing fans all saw what occurred there as the Pac-Man dominated the Golden Boy. Looking at their respective records it can be stated with relative authority that Pacquiao has faced a better class of opposition than has Hatton. While the two share no common opponents with which to compare their performances, Pacquiao has faced the likes of Erik Morales (three times), Juan Manuel Marquez (twice), Marco Antonio Barrera (twice), as well as David Diaz and Oscar De La Hoya. Hatton’s record consists of only two huge names; Kostya Tszyu, whom Ricky stopped in 11 rounds in perhaps his finest performance, and Floyd Mayweather, JR., whom Hatton was stopped by in 10 rounds. Other names appearing on the Hit Man’s record include Juan Urango, Luis Collazo, and Jose Luis Castillo. And now, for the fight itself. Once the bell rings there is a boxing axiom that while at times perceived as the dreaded “conventional wisdom” is one that history shows holds true, and that is: “speed kills.” Pacquiao will attempt to use his speed from the outset, setting a blistering pace and scoring with lightning fast Combinations, while avoiding return fire from Hatton. Hatton meanwhile, will be attempting to come forward, pressing the attack, crowding the ever moving Pacquiao, hoping to force him into exchanges where the Hit Man can do damage. How Hatton goes about this may be the yardstick of his potential success or failure on this night. Ricky must not be preoccupied with landing shots to the head. He must be content to land as he can to the body in those moments when Pacquiao comes inside looking to land fast combinations. Hatton is a terrific body puncher and he must bring that talent to bear on Pacquiao if he has any hopes of success. Further, Hatton must not come straight in and straight up or he will be mere cannon fodder for Pacquiao’s pinpoint punches. The Hit Man must present angles to Pacquiao, making himself a difficult target and perhaps making Pac Man miss thus setting up the opportunity to “make him pay” as they say in boxing vernacular. In studying the one fight that may be the closest to what we can expect on May 2 it can be found that Floyd Mayweather, JR., a speedster with fast hands like Pacquiao had much success in landing a left hook as Ricky came forward. Mayweather also was able to land straight right leads on Hatton even early in the fight when Hatton was having some measure of success. However, in that fight Hatton was always appearing to be leading for the head, a mistake as outlined earlier. He must go to the body in hopes of slowing Pacquiao down, an investment that could pay dividends even in this troubled economy if the fight gets into the later rounds. Hatton’s penchant for cutting is troubling at best in this fight. Pacquiao’s sharp punching will undoubtedly bring forth the flow of blood from Ricky. Hatton is used to this, so his dealing it with it is not a concern, and his corner has proven skillful in keeping the cuts under control. But Pacquiao has shown in the past that he possesses a great killer instinct and is a terrific finisher. If he sees blood, he will attack it and continue to land on the area. Another troubling aspect of the fight for Hatton is his seeming inability to ‘change up’ or adapt as the fight progresses. Against Mayweather, he was getting hit with the same punches over and over again because he came in the same way every time. In fact, as that fight wore on Hatton stopped moving his head all together and came straight in, again a big mistake as outlined previously. Like Mayweather, Pacquiao will find his niche; that punch that keeps working for him and he will land it as often as the opening presents itself. In this case, given that Pacquiao is a southpaw, it may indeed be the left hook. But in recent fights as Pacquiao has shown improvement in almost every aspect of his style he has become a much better right hand puncher as well. Thus, the straight right is not out of the question for Manny to land with authority as Mayweather did. The final kink in Ricky Hatton’s armor, and the one that may prove the most damaging in his quest to defeat the ‘Pound For Pound King’ Manny Pacquiao can be seen in Hatton’s last two fights, against Lazcano and Malignaggi. While seemingly dominant in both fights, Hatton appeared slower of both hand and foot. Perhaps Ricky is showing the wear of too many wars. Perhaps it is the effects of his infamous between fight weight gains. In either case, if he cannot catch Pacquiao with punches or move fast enough to cut off the ring then all will be lost. Pacquiao, for his part, must attempt to keep the fight in the center of the ring, something Mayweather did not do effectively. The key to this for Pacquiao will be his foot speed and constant punching. He must keep Hatton turning, off balance and unable to mount an offense. If need be Pacquiao can tie up the rushing Hit Man much as Sugar Shane Mosley did against Antonio Margarito; never allowing the “Tijuana Tornado” to ratchet up his attack. If Pacquiao is successful in exploiting the weaknesses of Ricky Hatton, and if he punches with the same authority he displayed against De La Hoya, then I see this fight ending inside of nine rounds with Hatton bloodied, dropped, and stopped.